


Too Close

by VideoPlay5178



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-07
Updated: 2015-03-07
Packaged: 2018-03-16 16:17:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3494861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VideoPlay5178/pseuds/VideoPlay5178
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ray needs to break up with Michael and thankfully Ryan's there to help him through it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Too Close

**Author's Note:**

> This was based off of one of the Song fics I wrote. I just felt like writing this one and I have no idea why.
> 
> Thank you for reading!

            Ray winced when Michael’s fist nearly put a hole through the apartment wall. He wanted to take his words back, but he knew that he couldn’t. He and Michael had been dating for nearly two years, but he just didn’t love Michael as much as he used to. He was still Ray’s friend but Ray couldn’t lie to Michael’s face anymore.

            Michael was glaring at Ray, breathing heavy and close to tears. “Get the fuck out!” Michael screamed, quickly moving toward Ray.

            Ray flinched and backed up, not wanting to be cornered by a very angry Michael. “I’ll leave, okay? When you’re calm we can talk, okay?”

            “GET OUT!” Michael wailed, forcing Ray out the door and into the cold night without a jacket. Ray winced when the door slammed shut and he sighed.

            Ray sighed and rubbed his arms, already feeling cold. He slowly walked to the parking lot and pulled out his phone. He thought he would cry, but this needed to be done. He needed a break, he needed to breathe for a while. Michael was a good guy, he never did anything to make Ray mad or hurt him, but he just didn’t want to date Michael anymore. They felt more and more like just best friends and things needed to end.

            Ray searched through his contacts and pressed on Ryan’s name. The older man had been a great help in making him realize his feelings, now Ray just hoped that Ryan would be willing to take him in when he was basically homeless.

            “Ray? Are you okay?” Ryan said answering the phone before the first ring finished. Ryan had been worried about Ray telling Michael how he felt and Ray couldn’t really blame the older man.

            “I’m fine Rye, I just.” He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. “Michael kicked me out and I don’t want to make him angrier by asking for my shit. Can I- can I stay on your couch or something?”

            “Oh, of course. Do you need me to pick you up?” Ryan asked, sounding relieved. “Michael didn’t take it well, huh?”

            Ray sighed biting his lip. “No, I’ll walk.” He decided stupidly, starting in the direction of Ryan’s apartment. It wasn’t that far. “Yeah, I didn’t think he would take it well, but I had to do it before I really hurt him.”

            “Well, that’s the decent thing to do.” Ryan tried to comfort Ray. “You need to be your own person and making yourself miserable would have only made thing worse.”

            Ray sighed and walked a bit faster, the cold seeping into his bones. “Yeah, I still feel like a piece of shit though.”

            “In the end, how you’re feeling is all that matters.” Ryan soothed, and Ray felt a bit better, surprisingly. “Neither of you would have been happy.”

            Ray sighed, suddenly feeling on the verge of tears. The feeling smacked him hard and he nearly fell over from the force of it. His eyes stung as he kept walking, he was almost there. “I know, but. Two years and then I just stop loving him?”

            “Emotions are a fickle thing. Are you alright Ray?” Ryan said, picking up on his change of voice. “You sure you don’t want me to come pick you up?”

            “I-I’m almost there.” Ray stammered, blinking away tears. “I’m at your door.” He nearly sobbed when he came to stand in front of Ryan’s apartment.

            Ryan hung up quickly and the door swung open. Ryan frowned at Ray with a worried look. “Ah, Ray.” Ryan sighed, pulling the younger man into a tight hug.

            Ray let everything go then. He cling to Ryan’s shirt and sobbed, his legs going limp from the cold and sheer force of his emotions. “I didn’t want to do that to him.” Ray sobbed brokenly.

            Ryan pulled them into the apartment, rubbing Ray’s arms to warm him up. “I know, but it had to be done.” He said gently, leading Ray to his couch and wrapping a blanket around Ray. He kneeled in front of him and smiled gently at him. “It’ll be alright, you just need some time.”

            Ray nodded numbly, hugging Ryan again. He was glad Ryan wasn’t yelling at him for not having a jacket. He was glad that Ryan was helping him through this. He leaned into Ryan’s hand when the older man hugged him and rubbed his back.

            Everything would be alright. He knew that this would help him feel better and move on. He couldn’t lie anymore.

* * *

 

            Ray woke up curled into Ryan’s couch. His eyes burned and his face felt tight from his tears. Ray sniffed, his nose still stuffed from crying himself to sleep. His knees were to his chest and his arms were pressed under his body. The blanket Ryan had given him was tightly wrapped around him.

            Ryan was nowhere to be seen but that was alright. Ray needed to just lay there awake for a while. Ray rubbed his face, stretching his legs out a bit but not getting out from under the blanket. He felt exhausted although he had slept all night without dreaming.

            Ray took a deep breath, digging around for his phone. The device was pressing into his hip uncomfortably. He pressed on the power button, squinting when the screens bright light nearly blinded him. It was noon and Ray had gone to sleep around two or three after crying into Ryan’s chest.

            Ray unlocked his phone, shocked by the sheer amount of notifications on his phone. Michael had sent him five voice mails and ten texts. Ray opened the texts first, nearly balling his eyes out right there when he started reading them.

            They started out cursing Ray and throwing everything he hated about himself into his face. Tears slipped from Ray’s eyes, his chest aching. The texts soon shifted to pained pleas for Ray to tell Michael if he was okay and to come home. Ray sniffed, trying to whip the tears from his eyes.

            He put his phone on Ryan’s coffee table, pulling the blanket over his head. He wasn’t strong enough to listen to the voice mails yet. He sniffed and sobbed quietly. He had heard every single one of the texts in Michael’s angry and broken voice. Ray curled more into himself as every word stung and made his chest ache.

            “Ray?” Ryan’s voice was worried and muffled, a gentle hand resting on his shoulder. Ray peaked out of the blanket, eyes watery and red. Ryan smiled gently at him, rubbing Ray’s shoulder. “What do you want for breakfast?” He asked, realizing Ray’s need to handle his pain by himself.

            “Pancakes.” Ray croaked before going back into his cocoon. Ryan nodded at him although Ray missed it and disappeared. Ray didn’t hear Ryan over his own mind and his soft sobs. Ray eventually calmed himself down and grabbed his phone again. He opened his voice mail and listened as Michael screamed at him over the phone.

            The last message tore Ray’s heart to bits. Michael was crying and trying to apologize to Ray. He wanted Ray to come home so that they could talk but Ray knew that if he went back he would try to repair everything and be in the same shitty situation.

            He loved Michael, however, as time went on Ray just felt a little unwanted. Michael would ignore him often in favor of something else and was an endless flirt with Gavin. Michael hardly every listened completely to Ray when he talked. Sometimes Ray felt like he was holding Michael back and he hated it. He spent a lot of nights in the shower crying until Ryan found out and offered help. Then he spent a lot of nights in the shower talking to Ryan and still crying sometimes. Their relationship hadn’t always been like that, but recently it had gotten worse and Ray couldn’t take it anymore. As much as he didn’t want to hurt Michael, he needed to feel good about himself.

             Their relationship didn’t feel equal and it definitely didn’t feel like they were dating. It felt like they were friends with benefits which was something Ray was not interested in. They were best friends that held hands and kissed and it just didn’t feel right. He knew Michael didn’t mean it, he had tried talking to Michael about it before but the other man had either dismissed it or promised to change and didn’t. It didn’t help that Michael could be a hypocrite sometimes. He could flirt with Gavin all he wanted, but Ray couldn’t flirt with Ryan? Michael could run off with Gavin without telling Ray but Ray couldn’t go over to Ryan’s for a friendly game night without feeling extremely guilty? It wasn’t fair.

            Ray smelled pancakes and emerged from his blanket with red puffy eyes and a runny nose. He wondered into Ryan’s kitchen and smiled weakly. Ryan stood over the stove, setting a plate of freshly made pancakes onto this stove. The kitchen table was set with paper plates and silverware. Syrup, butter, and jam sat ready in the center.

            “Hey, hungry?” Ryan asked, smiling at Ray. He carried the hot plate over to the table and set it on an oven mitt that he was using in place of a hot pad.

            Ray nodded slowly, falling into one of the two chairs around the table. He picked up his fork and stabbed three pancakes onto his plate as Ryan chuckled at him. He dumped a pool of syrup and nearly the entire container of butter on his cakes before eating them.

            “Can’t you eat anything healthy?” Ryan joked, taking four pancakes and putting jam and a little syrup on them.

            Ray smiled lightly, digging into the cakes. They were amazing, granted, Ray didn’t have much more than fast food and shitty microwavable meals. “Healthy food tastes awful.”

            “Only if you do it wrong.” Ryan countered with a short laugh. He was trying to keep Ray’s mood light and he was succeeding somewhat.

            They ate in silence after that, Ray staring intently at his food as he devoured it. He jumped when he heard his phone buzz loudly from the coffee table. He stared at it, frowning. Ryan watched him slowly stand and pick the device up.

            Ray swallowed thickly and answered the phone with shaky hands. “Hey Michael. “He said in a small voice. They had to talk, no matter how much Ray was scared to.

            “Thank fuck.” Michael’s voice was ruff and he sounded nasally, Ray doubted that he sounded any better. “I was worried that you were mugged or something.”

            “I’m fine.” Ray said after a shaky breath.

            “I’m glad, listen.” Michael sighed. “Come home, please. We can work this out.”

            Ray frowned and turned to face Ryan with a despite face. The older man was standing but staying next to the table. He looked torn between not intervening and taking Ray up into a hug. “I-Michael.” Ray sighed, hugging himself a bit. “I don’t think we can.” He started to feel angry, had Michael not listened to him at all?

            “We can.” Michael insisted, his voice rising. “I love you, come home. We can talk this out and everything will be fine.”

            Ray felt his blood boil and he squeezed his side. His eyes blurred with angry tears although he kept his voice even. “It’s not fine! We’ve already talked about it Michael and you just brushed me off!”

            “I did not!” Michael yelled and Ray’s grip on his phone tightened. Ryan flinched, having heard Michael from where he was standing. “You didn’t tell me shit!”

            Ray wanted to throw his phone. He wanted to break something so badly that he was actually eyeing a cow statue that Ryan had on a side table. Ryan frowned and moved over to Ray, trying to sooth him by rubbing his back. It was not helping at all. “I told you exactly what was wrong! I told you about how I felt and you ignored me to play a fucking game!”

            “Like you’re not as bad!” Michael snarled, keys clicking in the background. “Where are you? I’m coming to get your sorry ass.”

            Ray shook with anger and it took all of his will power to throw his phone. “I’m at Ryan’s!” He shouted, knowing that would strike a nerve in Michael. “And I’m not fucking leaving!”

            “You’re with that piece of shit?!” Michael screeched, something smashing in the background. “I’ve been worrying about you and you just went off and fucking got with that fucker?!”

            Ray was crying now and he couldn’t really see. He could feel Ryan’s arms hugging him, the older man trying to calm him down but that was the last straw. “I’m fucking someone else? LIKE YOU HAVEN’T BEEN FUCKING GAVIN!” Ray actually screamed, pained and angry tears streaming down his face. “Don’t you dare act like I don’t know!”

            Michael was eerily quiet on the other end. Ray shook, sobbing and not caring that Michael could hear him. Ray knew that Gavin and Michael had a thing going on, two people could not flirt that much and not be doing something with each other. Ray had refused to admit that it was true until now, but it explained a fucking lot.

            “Ray.” Michael sounded broken but Ray couldn’t handle that right now without wanting to just scream profanities and breaking something. “We never, I mean. We got close but we never-.”

            Ray hung up and chucked his phone at the wall. Amazingly, the phone did not break which just made Ray more distraught. He sobbed into his hands as Ryan hugged him tightly and thread his fingers through his hair. Did Ray have a tiny crush on Ryan? Yeah he did, but he didn’t act on it. He never wanted to act on it because he loved Michael, because he was faithful to Michael. He denied the fact that Michael was spending more and more time with Gavin since he met the British man. He denied the fact that there were times where Michael would have unexplained hickies.

            Ray sobbed into Ryan’s chest, fisting his fingers in the older man’s shirt. Ryan just held him and told him to cry, to get it all out. He gently rubbed Ray’s back, offering Ray a tissue every so often.

            Eventually Ray calmed down, breathing heavily through his mouth because his nose was completely stuffed and red. His face was probably bright red and his eyes were probably swelled. Ryan just gently rocked and hummed quietly. Ray leaned against Ryan’s chest, staring at the ground between their feet.

            “Rye?” Ray said brokenly, looking up at the older man. “Can I stay here for a bit?”

            Ryan nodded, offering Ray another tissue from thin air, where was that tissue box? “Of course, stay for as long as you need.” He smiled at Ray, giving him space to blow his nose. “I can go get your things from Michael’s if you want.”

            Ray nodded slowly. “Could you? I don’t want to see him right now.” He balled the tissue in his hand before stuffing it in his pocket with the other used ones.

            “I understand. Do you want me to go now?” Ryan asked, letting Ray go and stepping back.

            Ray stared at the ground before nodded slowly. “Please?” He needed some time to himself to think and calm down.

            Ryan nodded, gently rubbing Ray’s head before getting his jacket and keys. “Go ahead and use the shower that always seems to calm me down.” He offered as he walked toward his door. “I’ll be back soon. Don’t worry about cleaning up the kitchen, I’ll do it when I get back.”

            Ray nodded slowly, shuffling toward Ryan’s bathroom. He cried softly when the front door shut. He pulled his clothes off and stepped into the shower. As the water cascaded down his body, Ray sunk to the floor and curled into a tight ball. He cried silently, mumbling to himself about everything he was feeling.

* * *

 

            Ryan drove with a stern face. He hated seeing Ray so broken up. He cared deeply about the younger man, hell, he had fallen _hard_ for Ray. However, he was always one to respect Ray’s wishes and never made a move. He was sure no one even knew about his feelings for Ray. He knew things were going sour between Ray and Michael long before either man noticed. Then he found Ray sobbing to himself after a small fight with Michael at work, Ryan knew he had to do something as Ray’s friend.

            He talked to Ray and listened to him rant. He offered what advice that he could to mend Ray’s and Michael’s relationship. His heart had told him to ruin everything between them so that he could be with Ray, but he could never do that. When Ray called him one evening, not long ago, sobbing about the usual things until he mentioned Michael disappearing to Gavin’s apartment for much longer than usual.

            That struck a nerve with Ryan although Ray thought it was nothing. Ryan ended up cornering Gavin and questioning the British man. So Gavin was openly seducing Michael and trying to take him from Ray. If Ryan wasn’t a decent man, he would have punched Gavin in the face. Instead, he buried a knife in the office wall out of anger.

            Ryan knew that their relationship needed to end at that point. When Ray called him nearly every night after that he knew for sure that it needed to end. Not for his own selfish reasons but because it was tearing Ray apart and the younger man didn’t need that. He deserved to be happy and he was far from that.

            Ryan pulled into Michael’s apartment complex and took a deep breath. No matter what happened, he could not get frustrated and he could not punch Michael in his stupid face. Well, he could, but that wouldn’t be helping anyone.

            He slipped out of his car and approached Michael’s door. He knocked three times, rubbing his face to calm his internal anger. The door banged open and Michael looked at him hopefully, his face twisting angrily when he saw that it was Ryan at his door.

            “What the fuck do you want?” Michael growled, grabbing the door. “Where’s Ray?”

            “Ray’s at my apartment.” Ryan sighed, trying to stay calm and civil. “I’m here to get his stuff.”

            Michael reeled slightly, shocked. Then he glared at Ryan, sneering. “I’m not letting you in, you piece of shit.”

            Ryan sighed and tried to keep his composure. “Michael, please. Ray’s hurting badly and doesn’t want to leave my apartment. He can’t wear the same clothes every day.”

            “He’s hurting?!” Michael growled. “He broke up with me! Bring him here to get his own shit!” He yelled, moving to slam the door in Ryan’s face.

            Ryan put his foot to the door, stopping it, and slid into the apartment, Michael cursing at him. “Michael, did you ever consider for five seconds that Ray didn’t want to break up with you? That he didn’t want to fall out of love with you, but you gave him no choice?”

            Michael quieted, looking at the floor and griping the edge of his shirt. Ryan sighed and quietly shut the door behind him. “He called me nearly every night crying.” He continued, glancing around the apartment. “He was breaking apart, neither of you would have been happy.”

            Michael breathed ruggedly for a few moments then looked up at Ryan. “I did love him.” He defended himself, gesturing lamely at a closet door. “I just, I fucked up.”

            Ryan opened the closet and grabbed the biggest bag he could find. He sighed and slowly moved toward the bedroom, Michael following slowly behind him. “This relationship needed to end for the both of you. It wasn’t healthy.”

            Michael didn’t say anything. He just watched Ryan gather up all of Ray’s clothes, pointing to a few drawers on the dresser that apparently belong to Ray. Luckily, everything fit in the bag Ryan had picked. He glanced at the bookcase of games in their living room and decided that he had more games at home anyway.

            Michael saw him silently to the door, opening it for him. Before Ryan could leave without a goodbye Michael caught his arm. “Take care of him, okay?” He said, looking up at Ryan teary-eyed. “I won’t bother him until he’s ready to talk to me.”

            Ryan smiled gently at Michael and nodded. “I will.” He said, walking to his car, the bag slung over his shoulder. He tossed the duffle onto his back seat and sighed in the driver’s seat.

            He took his time driving home, giving Ray time to be alone. It seemed that Michael understood that everything was over which was good. Now Ryan just had to focus on cheering Ray up.

* * *

 

            Ray promised over and over again to get an apartment as soon as he could but he never did. Not that either of them actually minded. Ryan liked having someone around to fill the empty space of his apartment, the fact that it was Ray was a bonus. Ray didn’t want to be alone, he had been living with someone for so long that he didn’t know what to do with himself if he lived alone. Probably play video games and not eat. Probably, more like, most likely.

            They were both pretty happy with the arrangement. Ray slept on the couch and Ryan in his room. They shared the bathroom on a schedule and Ryan cooked because Ray couldn’t. Ray did the dishes and took out the trash. Cleaning the apartment was a team effort but they both agreed that it was better off that way.

            Michael kept to his promise and didn’t contact Ray until Ray was ready to talk to him. Eventually Ray went and got all of his games from Michael, the air tense and awkward. However, by the time Ray left they were talking like old friends. Sometimes they would play games over x-box live which was good.

            Ray was quickly cheering up and Ryan locked his feelings in a mental box and ignored his aching chest when Ray mentioned dating again.

            “It’s only been three months.” Ryan pointed out, watching Ray kill him for the millionth time. “That’s a bit soon, isn’t it?”

            Ray shrugged and searched for Ryan as his character respawned on the other side of the Halo map. “I’m over Michael now.”

            “Well yeah, but whoever you chose is still a rebound and that’s just shitty for them.” Ryan countered, managing to kill Ray.

            Ray frowned and looked at Ryan as his character respawned. “How long should I wait then?” He asked, with a quizzical frown.

            Ryan shrugged, thinking. It had been awhile since any of these dating rules eve applied to him. “I’d say six months? Maybe a year?” He suggested, pushing the thoughts away that he should just pounce Ray right now. Instead, a voice claiming that Ray would never love Ryan took its place and made Ryan’s heart ache.

            “That’s a long time.” Ray said distantly, looking back at the game. “But you’re probably right.”

            Ryan sighed and bit his lip. “I honestly have no idea. It’s been a long time since I’ve dated anyone.” He admitted, groaning when he died again.

            Ray snorted. “Seriously? I would think that you had a line out the door waiting to get with you.” He said, throwing a grenade in the last few seconds of the game and managing to kill Ryan somehow.

            “There’s no one who wants to be with me.” Ryan shrugged, playing his pained doubts off as nothing as he set his controller on the coffee table. “I really haven’t been interested in dating anyway.”

            Ray watched Ryan, setting his controller down and frowning. “I’m sure there’s someone.” He countered. “You’re a decent guy and good looking.”

            Ryan chuckled, shaking his head. He needed out of this conversation. “It doesn’t matter. I think I’m going to go for a drive.”

            “Where to?” Ray asked curiously, watching Ryan get up with a worried look. Ryan only went on rides when he was upset or needed to think.

            “Just around.” Ryan sighed, leaving with a quick good bye before Ray could stop him. He was denying his feelings too much and he knew it. He slipped into this car and just drove, ending up on back roads that wound around the few country fields around the city.

            He hated to admit it, but that little voice in his head was right. Ray would never look at him with a romantic tilt. Ryan was just Ray’s friend that let him live in his apartment and offered a shoulder to cry on. His chest ached at that but he knew it had to be true. He would never be anything more than a friend to Ray and he could handle that. He would have to.

            He would force his feelings away, they weren’t necessary anyway. He was perfectly happy alone, he was an idiot anyway. Ryan jumped when his car beeped angrily at him. He was running on empty and he had only a general idea of where he was. He really hoped that he hadn’t broken any traffic laws as he pulled into the nearest gas station.

            He watched the numbers on the pump numbly. He had done well thus far, he could continue to ignore his feelings. They would eventually go away. Ray was bound to find someone new, someone better than Michael or himself. Ray would eventually move out, Ryan was honestly surprised that Ray had stayed as long as he had. Most of the people Ryan had dated – once upon a time – had left Ryan very soon after they started dating. It was awful, because Ryan always fell hard for the people he dated. That was why he just gave up all together.

            Regardless, Ray still needed time to get over Michael. By the time Ray would start to date again, Ryan’s feelings were bound to have gone away. It would be alright, they could be just friends forever.

            Ryan’s face twisted bitterly as he pulled the nozzle out of his car and replaced the gas cap. He drove straight home after that. Ray hadn’t moved from the couch, but he was sleeping the controller slipping from his fingers and the title screen music of a Call of Duty game playing in the background.

            Ryan chuckled and gently took the controller. He moved Ray to lay down, draping a blanket over him. He turned off the x-box and the TV. He glanced at Ray, resisting the urge to kiss the younger man’s forehead, before going into his bedroom feeling empty.

* * *

 

            After a year, Ray still lived with Ryan. Granted they had upgraded to a bigger apartment that had two rooms. When Ryan’s lease was up at his old apartment, Ray had suggested the bigger space with a sweet smile. Ryan was over joyed that Ray still wanted to live with him, but of course the younger man had his motives.

            Ray brought people home all of the damn time. Men, women, other. They all ended up in Ray’s room and Ryan hardly heard from them the rest of the night and well into the next day. Ryan convinced himself that it was a good thing that Ray was getting back out there. Many of the people Ray brought back tended to come back for a few weeks before someone new came along. However, Ryan’s chest burned.

            He was still well in love with Ray, if anything, his feelings got worse. Every time Ray came home with someone, Ryan fought with himself until he was used to it. Until he begrudgingly accepted that Ray was dating that person. Then someone knew would come along and the entire process started over again.

            Ryan made sure to keep his pains to himself. He went out on rides a lot more however. He was losing too much sanity and gas money on this. He knew that he could just leave, get his own apartment again and try and will his feelings away but he never did. He was settling for just living with Ray.

            Ryan was sure Ray would move out when one of his bed mates came around more often for something other than Ray’s room. She came around a lot just to talk with Ray and sometimes all three of them would have diner. They looked good together. Ryan wanted to stick his head through a wall.

            Ryan stuffed all his feelings of anger and pain away in his metaphorical box that was getting heavier and heavier. He smiled at Ray and tried to make it reach his eyes. She was a nice girl and she and Ray suited each other well. He was happy for them, he truly was. He just wished that he could be her.

            “Hey Ryan!” She said cheerfully when Ray let her into the apartment. Ryan should really bother to remember her name but he never felt up to it.

            “Hey.” He said, taking the great efforts to smile. He looked back at the camera that he was making. To occupy his mind, he had taken up getting blueprints for different devices online and building things. He had already made a working computer and a toy dinosaur. They helped some what.

            Ray and the girl talked quietly for a moment before Ray left to go get something. Ryan tried not to visibly tense at being left alone with her. He focused on his camera until a hand on his shoulder startled him.

            “Oh sorry!” She laughed sheepishly, taking her hand back. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”            

            Ryan gave her a half smile and shook his head. “It’s fine.” He said, putting the part he was working on down. His fingers were shaking. “Did you need something?”

            She smiled gently at him and sat in the chair next to Ryan’s. “Ray made me promise not to tell you this, but I think I have to.” She said and Ryan held his breath. Ray was leaving wasn’t he? It was about time, wasn’t it? “We’re not actually dating.”

            What. “What?” Ryan asked, his brain breaking slightly.

            She chuckled and shook her head. “We were at first but we both agreed to be friends. He told me to pretend in front of you though.”

            Ryan’s heart pounded painfully in his ears. Why would Ray do that? Of course the younger man had no idea of Ryan’s feelings, but that was just cruel. “Ah. Do you know why?” He asked, trying to sound normal.

            “Because he’s trying to make you jealous.” She said, patting Ryan’s arm. “He thinks you don’t like him that way at all, but it’s kind of obvious that you do.”

            Ryan stared at her blankly. Tina, that’s her name. Right? “Huh?” He said unintelligently.

            Tine stifled a laugh, shaking her head. “Ray’s been trying to make you jealous for a while now. He thinks that you’ll eventually blow up at him.”

            Ryan wobbled slightly then slammed his head into the table. He groaned long and loud, tugging at his hair. Why were things so difficult? So him hiding his feelings and forgoing his own happiness for Ray to date other people had literally been the opposite of what he should have done? God fucking damnit.

            Tina gently patted his head, holding back laughter. “You really didn’t notice that he was flirting with you?” She asked.

            Ryan sighed and turned his head so that his cheek was being pricked by the parts of his camera. He could feel a screw sticking to his forehead. “I was too busy shoving myself into a closet.” He admitted, brushing the screw off of his face. “Why couldn’t he just tell me?”

            “Because he was scared.” Tina told him, chuckling. “You two need to communicate.”

            Ryan sighed and gave Tina his first real smile in a long time. “Noted. Thank you Tina.” He said, sitting up.

            Tina laughed, pulling the lens sticking to Ryan’s cheek off. “No problem, it had to be said.”  
            Ryan chuckled, looking at Ray when the younger man came in. Ray was looking between them, a jealous fire lighting in his eyes. Ryan mentally groaned at his own oblivious mind. “I’m going home!” Tina declared, winking at both Ray and Ryan with a knowing smile.

            Without waiting for Ray to see her out, Tina pranced through their front door, shutting it tightly. Ray frowned. “What the hell?” He asked, sitting down next to Ryan. “What just happened?”

            Ryan looked at Ray and studied his face. Ray was looking at Ryan with a bright look, his brown eyes filled with an emotion that Ryan had missed completely. He smiled gently and leaned forward before his stupid brain could stop him.

            Ray froze when their lips connected, but kissed back once his brain caught up with what was happening. When they pulled apart, Ray was smiling like an idiot and Ryan knew that he wasn’t any better.

            “You should have told me.” Ryan said, resting their heads together. “I didn’t want to make things awkward.”

            Ray blushed and smiled sheepishly. “I was scared for the same reason.” He admitted, moving to the edge of his seat to be closer to Ryan. “Tina told you?”

            Ryan chuckled and kissed Ray again as an answer. Once Tina had told him the truth, it was like the flood gates had opened. There was no way that he was letting another minute slip past hiding how he felt and denying everything that would make him happy.

            Ray kissed back, wrapping his arms around Ryan’s neck and tangling his fingers in his hair. Ryan wrapped his arms loosely around Ray’s waist, picking him up and moving them to the couch without breaking the kiss.

            Ray laughed when Ryan collapsed on the couch with Ray on top of him. Ray snuggled into Ryan’s chest, smiling. “How long?” Ryan asked curious, playing with Ray’s hair. This position was not unusual to them. Ryan couldn’t remember how it started but they started to cuddle all of the damn time, sometimes Ray joining him in his bed. Really, he should have saw what was happening. God he was a moron.

            “Since I broke up with Michael.” Ray admitted. “I had a small crush on you then, but it just got bigger the longer I stayed with you.”

            Ryan chuckled face-palming because he wasted so much time being stupid. “I’m a moron.” He sighed, smiling at Ray.

            Ray laughed and pecked him on the cheek. “Yes you are. I had no idea that you had any feelings at all for me until Tina told me about how you would look at me when my back was turned.”

            Ryan may have looked at Ray longingly every time the younger man’s back turned. Okay, there was no ‘may have’ there. “You didn’t have to try and make me jealous.” Ryan pointed out.

            “I didn’t realize that was what I was doing until Tina broke our relationship up and became my friend.” Ray chuckled awkwardly. “She set me straight real quick.”

            Ryan laughed. “I like that girl much more now.” He said, holding Ray tighter. “I’m sorry.”

            Ray shook his head. “No, no. It’s my fault really.” He said, sighing. “I shouldn’t have tried to make you jealous. You were just giving me the space I needed which I greatly appreciate.”

            Ryan smiled mischievously, kissing Ray’s temple. “Well, you can start making it up to me.” He suggested, rubbing Ray’s sides.

            Ray blushed then laughed. “Gladly.” He said happily, kissing Ryan again. Ryan kiss back, completely in heaven after so long.


End file.
